Weather Readiness

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Current Status

There are no closures at this time.

Current Update

Friday, September 22, at 10:00 a.m.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, I hope you are safe, well, and returning to some
state of normalcy in your daily lives. We lament the significant challenges that the
storm imposed on many of our students, faculty, and staff.

For the University, assessment of campus damage has been completed, cleanup is well
underway, and classroom and office spaces are usable. Repairs both minor and major
will take some time to complete.

Academically, the major concern now at hand is to devise a plan that will allow for
the make-up of classes which were cancelled as a result of the storm. Our accrediting
body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), has no strict policy
regarding classes missed as a result of events as unusual as hurricanes; however,
we have two important responsibilities to keep in mind as we consider how to move
forward:

First, we have an obligation to SACS to maintain the integrity of the credit hours
awarded to students. We also have an obligation to students and parents to deliver
the education they are paying for.

Over the past week, I have had multiple meetings and consulted with Associate Provosts,
Deans, Institute Directors, several Division and Department Chairs, the Registrar,
and our Faculty Chair and Executive Committee to discuss possible options for making
up those classes that were missed due to Hurricane Irma. We discussed and evaluated
many options, and we collectively decided on the following.

Cancelled classes may be made up on weekday evenings, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday
as appropriate.The date(s) and time(s) of these additional class meetings are up to the discretion
of the instructor.

Instructors may assign extra material, assignments, or course content as appropriate.This additional material may be delivered online, through Blackboard, or through a
variety of platforms. Our Academic Technology Center and our Center for Teaching and
Learning are holding seminars for professors called “Making up for Lost Time: A Professor’s
Guide to Surviving Hurricane Irma.” These seminars focus on providing faculty with
valuable tools to successfully deliver course content in new and innovative ways,
including online lessons, virtual classes, hybrid environments, and face-to-face meetings.

Instructors may choose to schedule class meetings on Friday, November 10.No classes are currently scheduled for Friday, November 10, which is the federal holiday
observance of Veterans Day, but that day may prove to be a convenient make-up day
for both faculty and students. Faculty have been encouraged to consult with students
regarding the use of this day as a make-up day in light of the number of student veterans
affected.

Professors may use any or all of these options to plan the rest of the semester in
a way that fulfills our promise to deliver academic excellence. We understand that
no single solution will work for everyone. We also understand that Hurricane Irma
had devastating impacts on many of our students and their families, and on many of
our instructors and their families. This semester demands flexibility and consideration
of all of us.

Students, your professors will communicate with you about their plans to make up for
the time we lost to Hurricane Irma. With all of these measures, faculty have been
encouraged to give special consideration to students who cannot meet at rescheduled
times due to work obligations, religious reasons, athletic competitions, or extracurricular
demands. If you have a conflict with the measures your professor has chosen to implement
to deliver makeup material, please communicate with your professor.

This plan represents our best efforts to keep our students at the center of what we
do. Thank you all for your flexibility and perseverance as we adapt to the unique
circumstances of this fall semester.

Donald H. Horner, Jr., Ph.D. Provost, Senior Vice President of University & Academic AffairsProfessor of Leadership, Davis College of Business Jacksonville University